Speaking directly to your audience through podcasting – Part I

This is Part I of II.  Podcasting is often associated with Apple’s iTunes software, the world’s largest repository of podcasts (as well as Apple’s ubiquitous iPod and iPhone).  However, a podcast is any:

(a)   Digital media file(s) (either audio or video)  

(b)  That is subscribeable,

(c)   Released episodically, and

(d)  Often downloaded through web syndication (RSS).[i]

Consider a podcast like radio, only it is more focused and can be listened to at any time, at the convenience of the listener.  Podcasts are overwhelmingly free and cover a variety of topics; if it interests someone, there is probably a podcast covering the topic.  For an example of a podcast related to law, check out Jim Calloway’s podcast with Sharon Nelson called The Digital Edge.

There is a tremendous amount of variety in podcasting.  Consider this description of podcasts from Microsoft’s Zune store: “Some podcasts are as short as five minutes per episode; others can go on for an hour or more. They range from professionally produced podcasts to others that are more than a bit rough around the edges. Podcasts are usually produced on a regular basis, either as episodic programs (like newscasts) or as serial programs (like entertainment dramas). To automatically download each new episode of a podcast when it’s released, subscribe to it using your Web browser or podcast managers like the one in Zune software.”

Check back tomorrow for Part II of this series on podcasting.

[ii] Technically, you could use the built-in microphone in your computer, but the audio quality is consistently poor enough using this microphone that it is worth a $20.00 investment in a USB microphone.